* Trade market’s suddenly exploding today, and if I’m the Warriors, I’m a little worried about the sudden money flexibility developing in Clipper Compound. Anyway, thought W’s fans would like to get in on some of the chatter, even if it’s involving what their team DIDN’T do…

-Yes, the Warriors are apparently serious about holding onto Monta Ellis through tomorrow’s trade deadline, unless they’re knocked over with a monster offer.

They’ll keep listening. They have some interested teams. They’ve perked up interest by holding Ellis out last night and now tonight, explained by his minor knee injury.

But, by all indications, so far the Warriors aren’t eager to trade Ellis, even if he would be interested in a new location, if they’re beginning to realize he’s not a perfect fit with Stephen Curry and if Memphis is very interested in acquiring Ellis.

This deal was first offered at the start of the season and possibly is still on the table, in Memphis’ view, and still rejected by the Warriors.

Now, unless there are humongous chemistry issues with Mayo, I don’t know how the Warriors could do much better in an Ellis deal.

(Well, I could think of one way–if the W’s could lure Rudy Gay from Memphis. Gay’s a restricted free agent this summer, so if Ellis remains a Warrior through the deadline, Gay is the name I’d remember for a trade in July/August.)

Mayo is 6-4 and listed at 210 pounds, 20 or 30 pounds heavier than Ellis, easily. He’s explosive, long, and a truer shooting guard with some ball-handling skills who would seem to have a better shot at blending with Curry.

But Mayo, of course, is far from perfect: His defense, according to one source, has been “dreadful” this season, and he does like to have the ball in his hands almost as much as Ellis.

You can see why the W’s wouldn’t do this:

-Ellis sells tickets, period.

-His chemistry with Curry might not be great, but you have no idea how Mayo would click with Curry, either.

-Yes, this deal would dump the remaining $44M and 4 years left in Ellis’ deal, with not much long-term money coming back, but if the W’s want to keep Mayo, they’d have to pay him eventually the same kind of money.

Again, much ado about something that won’t/didn’t happen. But thought some people might be interested to see what’s out there.

Hey-what happened to JP? Havent heard from him ever since he was called out for really being Flunkster…er Robert Rowell, I mean Fitz.

wowser

Looks like the W’s won again today with Monte and put up big numbers also.

andrew

I find it absolutely COMICAL that someone on this board would condescendingly say “Is there even any kind of source to back this up?”

You’re not Tim’s boss. This is a Blog. Read it. Think about it. And get on with your pathetic life.

J-walk

I pay attention to trade rumors all the time, and I’ve never heard this being floated. Not a sniff of it. So I doubt this was ever on the table. Maybe an idea floated by two low level execs. With that said, this would be a lateral move at best. Mayo is a worse ball-hawk than Ellis, and far less consistent. He is one inch taller, beefier and slower. Relies to much on the jumper and is for sure not as quick. This would not be a good trade.

whtcrxghst

wowser #48. “Monte” didn’t play today you ruhtard. Neither did Monta by the way

eric

Tim, is there anyway the Ws can get in on some of the rumored bought out players? People like Kurt Thomas and Drew Gooden (i kinda doubt this one since he is still a pretty solid player) would definitely be a nice addition to the team

overton j’anthony mayo

I say no go on the trade (btw, “overton j’anthony mayo” has long been my handle whenever i post on this site, its just a coincidence that we are now talking about the actual OJ Mayo). I say this even though i think Mayo works better for this team than Monta. The reason i’d say no to this trade is because I think the return on Monta should be higher than just an OJ Mayo. People have tossed out plenty of names for who they’d like to see in exchange for Monta (I’d love Igoudala) and no one ever mentioned Mayo. The dubs could do better.

I think the most important thing is that we assemble a team full of players who do not need the ball in their hands all the time to be their most effective. Curry is definitely the guy you to have the ball the most often. He has a natural knack for facilitating scoring. He can either take advantage of his own quite prodigious scoring ability, or, just as easily (and willingly), create for others. Taking it even a step further, he already knows how to perfectly strike the right balance between looking for his own scoring and creating for others, something many players never master.

So, bottom line, we want Curry to be the one who controls the ball on offense. Knowing this, any player I try to add to this team should be one that thrives playing off the ball. That means someone able to contribute to getting people open, including themselves. This takes court awareness, knowing where to move without the ball, working to set screens and knowing how to use screens set for you, etc. So having a team full of guys who know how get open is step one (you know Curry will be able to find them). Thats step one, and its a step our two “star” players in ME and CM would probably fail.

The second half of the equation is what a player does with the ball after they get it. Are they smart enough to know when its not a high percentage scoring chance? Are they good enough to convert their high percentage chances? Maggete is good enough to convert scoring chances, which is his one strength. But just as important is something Maggete lacks, namely the ability to differentiate between the high percentage and low percentage chances. He doesn’t know when to give up.

Another question you have to ask about a player is not just does he know when to give up the rock, but when they do give it up, how good are they at choosing the best guy to pass it to. This is crucial. Maggete, for example, rarely makes the right pass. He makes it hard for himself because he usually holds the ball for so long before passing that the offense has stagnated. His routine of pivots and jerky head fakes and leaning against his guy in an attempt to create an opening precedes pretty much every pass. His other type of pass is the one where he dribbles into two guys, has nowhere to go, and flings a pass towards the nearest dub uniform he can find. Occasionally, this can result in an assist for a layup, but it usually ends poorly.

Basically my point is, any player we trade for Ellis should not only be extremely talented, but he should also pass the anti-Maggete test. More than anything else, the guy who replaces Monta or Maggete alongside Curry should be an anti-Maggete.

overton j’anthony mayo

sorry bout the length of that post… thats the result of suffering through a season and a half of Corey Maaggete. I’m sure everyone can understand.

samuraaaaiiiiiii

#56

I hear ya.

bgibbs813

You guys are crazy if you wouldn’t take Monta for OJ. I am a Grizzly fan/ season ticket holder, and the only reason why I am on this and reading this is because this is the first time I have heard about this. AND I hope it is not true, for those people who think OJ can’t play D-fense is terribly wrong. HE can guard any PG he is just undersized to guard the 2 position. If he was moved to the PG like everyone here in Memphis wishes, he would be an excellent defender. AND he is a PEST on d-fense, he gets up on people and slaps at the ball, ask Brandon Roy when OJ slapped the ball out of his hands with 16 seconds left in the game with the Griz up by 2, then he fouled OJ trying to get the ball back and OJ hit the free throws and ended the game. OJ is a favortie and people said it right, he has taken a back seat to Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay. I wish they would trade Rudy for Monta, that would give us Monta and OJ, good luck stopping that offense.

bgibbs813

You do realize that Mayo is actually helping the Grizzlies win right? Last night he hit a clutch 3 with 45 seconds left when the Grizzlies were down by 5, Griz went down and got a stop and tied it up, sent the game into overtime and won…. That happened LAST NIGHT. Why don’t you watch the man before you say anything about him. Dude has been CLUTCH in some games when we need points to tie, take the lead, or put the game away. Has Monta done any of that this year. I dont think so since A. the Warriors havent won and B. Monta is ALWAYS hurt

But, people lets get real. Mayo isn’t half the NBA player of Monta. Ellis is a much more dynamic offensive player, penetrator, etc.

Despite claims of earlier respondents, while Monta isn’t a great shooter, he’s a better shooter than OJ. Mayo is not a good outside shooter at all.

Anyone who watches a lot of Pac 10 hoops and saw Mayo play on a regular basis….knows he’s a highly flawed player in many respects.

http://hoopshype me

i will do it if memphis includes gay or expiring(s) + mayo in exchange of monta

steve

Trading Ellis now wouldn’t be the Warriors way of doing things. They first need to hammer his value into the ground before getting peanuts for him.

Too Painful to Watch

I was offered free tickets to go to Friday’s game, but I declined in order to support my BOYCOTT of the Warriors.

The more people that we can gather not to go to games, the stronger our voice will be against Chris Cohan.

Too Painful to Watch

One playoff appearance in the last 15 years is what the Warriors Management have accomplished. Again, please join me in boycotting this team by not going to any games or buy their merchandise until Chris Cohan sell the team. A decrease in ticket sales is the only way to get Cohan’s attention since he only care about making money.

There is a game Friday Feb 19th. DO NOT GO TO THIS GAME!

To season ticket holders, you would speak loudly by not renewing your season tickets for next season.

If you have other ideas to increase the boycott, please let us know. Here is a website to support our BOYCOTT cause.

For those who do not want to boycott this team, can you please explain your reasonings? Thanks.

MikeM

Last night was solid proof that the Warriors play better without Ellis. I hope things change radically today.

I suspect they might.

Chris Webber

They should definitely not trade Ellis until the end of the season. They need to package him with Mags or another player to get someone worthwhile.
OJ Mayo is alright, but he’s not going to make a difference.
Tank the rest of the way. Get a high draft pick (barring Stern’s lottery voodoo) and trade assets during the off season.
Cohan sells to Ellison. Ellison fires everyone and their mother. Send Nellie upstairs and rebuild this motha correctly.

noah

“If we then package Maggette and Randolph or Wright to Minnesota for Al Jefferson, ”

I don’t get why people think the Twolves will give Jefferson away for essentially nothing. The only value in that trade, if any, is Randolph, who plays the same position as Jefferson and would create the same problems with Kevin Love.

I mean, I’d love the Ws to trade Ellis for Kobe Bryant. Biedrins for Chris Bosh. Maggette for Dwayne Wade. Those trades are barely less realistic than Maggette + Randolph for Jefferson.

Al Oha

Could we possibly get a coach who could get this team back to running?
Running OTHER teams into the ground while substituting freely so as NOT to run your own players into the ground, for the game and the season, as Nellie has a propensity to do.

The ONE advantage this current roster of Warriors has is not being utilized and could be given away cheap. YOUTH and SPEED.

Monta, AB, AR, BW are all players who are being marginalized but would be valuable on a running team in the open court.

Curry would have a field day with this type of game.

If the Warriors aren’t running, then Monta turns into Bubba Gump instead of Run Forest, Run.

Ron

The only trade that would matter would be Ellison for Cohan.

Fitzsupporter

Guys, I don’t know why you’re giving Cohan such a hard time. He may not have helped his cause by staying out of the public eye and remaining silent. But honestly, he’s just someone who doesn’t like the spotlight. He does care, passionately, about the team and has poured his heart and soul into creating a winner. Mullin didn’t do him any favors during his tenure as GM. Rowell’s got to clean up that mess now. He just needs more time, and we can pull through this. Stay positive!

grumpy old man

I was alive in 75 to see Rick, Johann, and the rest win an NBA Championship, so I can die a somewhat happy man, hell I was even alive for Raider, and A’s world championships! Now as for the the Gigantes…………………….good luck with that one suckers! I would really enjoy seeing the W’s be a factor once again in the playoffs before I die, but I still believe in Santa Claus too!

15/70

I haven’t watch many Grizz games, but Mayo was pretty good defensively at USC and a good passer. He does have a good basketball IQ, and a much better fit than Monta for the Warriors and Curry. At 6-4 210lbs. he is a little small to guard all NBA 2 guards but that is basically the same size as JR or Mitch Richmond. That said, you have to get more for Monta… they need both Mayo and Gay and maybe they wait until this summer to leverage a trade of Monta, Azubuike and Wright (who is from Tenn.) for Mayo & Gay.

too short

O GOOD GOD, Fitzsupport! Stop it already, you troll.

robert rowell

#67 yup. beating a crappy, depleted SAC team at HOME really proves it alright! make up your mind, last year you blamed monta because the team was bad — he was injured and didn’t play. this year you blame monta because the team is bad — he’s played a ton and played pretty darn good. ever stop to think (probably not) that he’s on a team with MAYBE two or three legit nba players? not much help for him there sitting on the bench. but oh yeah, that’s monta’s fault too, right?

changes are coming alright, this is the time of the year when the W’s play .400 ball and wind up in the #11-15 slot in the draft.

buy tickets!

Ddub

Rhetorical question, but why would the W’s not have been part of the Rockets-Knicks deal to try to land Carl Landry?! You want to talk about the perfect fit for Nellie’s antiquated small guy system? This guy is a blue-collar rebounding machine and would’ve resurrected the Larry Smith hard-hat fan club! Look at the Biedren’s pathetic line last night…Landry pulls 7 rebounds in a friggin quarter. Can’t believe a Maggette/George/Bell/whomever package couldn’t have gotten this done.

Not only does this W’s team overvalue its own assets…it doesn’t even know what assets it needs to get better. That’s the sad part of the Rowell/Riley/Nellie disasterous leadership.

Jeremy

People on here just want change for the sake of change. Monta is worlds better than Mayo and if this were to go down make no mistake this is just a salary dump. Monta is a better scorer, better defender, and signed to a decent contract given his talent. He does need to develop better chemistry with Curry, but this deal would be Webber for Gugliotta all over again.

IF Monta is dealt, it needs to be for a scoring 4. Someone who can post up or shoot facing the basket from at least the elbow. And right now could be the worst possible time to trade him. He has more value in the offseason when teams currently out of the running are more likely to try to get better as opposed to salary dump. On the other hand Maggette is a guy who needs to be moved midseason when teams are more likely to take on a bad contract if they think it’ll get them over the top.

I can’t believe I’m reading people say Monta doesn’t play defense. The guy has been close to an All-Star level talent and people on here just want to give him away for salary relief and a guy proving he is best fit as a #3 option.

Fire Bob Fitzgerald

Well said 64. The Warriors brass has done their best to hammer Ellis’ value but they probably aren’t done yet.

Al Oha

#37 & #72 Fitzsupporter,

Hey jockstrap salesman, at first I thought you were kidding, nobody could be that much of a brown nose.

#72 Hey Fitz, why don’t you focus on not talking about the warriors on a sports talk show..Thanks..

http://www.animalhiphop.com Animal

Monta is better than Mayo anyways. Also Monta is still improving, he’s still very young, this is the most responsibility he has ever had, and he will learn from this.

The one thing going for Mayo is that he’s bigger. I don’t see him bringing any positive change for the W’s though. Glad they didn’t pull the trigger on this one.

HOWEVER – The W’s can’t just stand pat all offseason. Come draft day they better have a real plan of how to improve this team. There are really only 3-4 players that are worth keeping on this squad, if that.

MikeM

At least the Warriors didn’t do what the Kings did. Man, Houston “won” that trade.

Basically, the Kings traded Martin (way down) for Carl Landry, and gave up Rodriguez in the process. Yes, they freed up cap space, but I doubt they’ll use that wisely.

Actually, I think New York did itself a favor, too. You’d think that the Kings would have received a draft pick for facilitating this trade with Houston and New York, but they didn’t even get that. Pathetic.

Now the Kings roster is a mess. Golden State could pass them in the standings.

Sub in Monta for Martin and the Warriors for the Kings, and tell me, who got the better end of that deal? Still Houston.

Jeremy

I don’t know about the Kings being big losers there… Landry is an absolute beast and Martin was not working out playing with Evans. We think Ellis/Curry are having problems… Evans and Martin are the same player.

I do agree that Houston is the big winner getting Martin, Hill, and the picks though. They and the Cavs getting Jamison w/o giving up Hickson are the two biggest trade winners.

noah

“Rhetorical question, but why would the W’s not have been part of the Rockets-Knicks deal to try to land Carl Landry?! . . . Can’t believe a Maggette/George/Bell/whomever package couldn’t have gotten this done.”

–really? you can’t believe that the Rockets would rather have Kevin Martin than Maggette/George/Bell??? It’s pretty hard to take your opinion seriously…

–as for the Kings — Martin and Evans are both ball dominant guards. Landry is one of the most efficient interior scorers in the NBA, and has been, along with Aaron Brooks, the Rockets go-to guy in the 4th quarter. He’s at least in the same league as Martin.

dreeezy

the difference between us and the kings is that when they realized their back court wasn’t working, they did something about it. we’re a losing team with the squad we have. if we want to rebuild give the grizz monta’s 5 year contract and we take in mayo’s and gay’s. with mayo being the only 2 year contract we have to deal with.

if its not working. why the hell are we still holding on to it??!

BaBaLoo

What other players are worth looking at?

Is Tracy McGrady done, could he work for the Warriors?

Wow

People that say that the warriors play better without monta are wrong. Sure, the warriors owned the kings last night, but what about the other game against the kings? Monta missed that game and the warriors were the ones being owned by sacramento. Right now monta is the face of the warriors, and although curry hopefully will be what the warriors build on, right now monta shouldn’t be trade for oj mayonaise.

http://www.robertphoenix.com dominmatrix

I would take Mayo for Ellis btw. Their skill sets are different and Mayo will and can take a bigger guard. Monta cannot make other players better at this point. I’m not saying he can’t or won’t, but not now. It’s not part of his game.

First order of bidness:

1) Get Nellie to get the goddamed record and be done with him.

2) Sell the team to Ellison in the off season.

3) Let Ellison clean house, from top to bottom, including The Warriors useless trainer and conditioning coaches. I’ve never seen a team get hurt more often for longer stretches than this one.

4) Fire Fitz. I like Barnett, but maybe he can go as well. Bring on Papa and Mr. T. Keep it fresh.

5) Change the name to “The Oakland Warriors.”

6) Hire Jerry West at any cost.

7) Let West pick the coach and the style of play.

8) Game on.

doin it REAL BIG

This is a certified no-brainer. Mayo’s only been in the league 1.5 years and is already incredibly productive, plus he’s younger than Ellis. He may not be performing statistically at Monta’s level, but Monta’s stats are inflated by the run-and-gun style. Also, OJ’s barely been in the league. I really don’t understand why you don’t take this trade, especially when the front office has been hinting at wanting to trade Monta for so long.